The Golden State Warriors desperately
needed someone besides Earl Boykins to make a basket in the
fourth quarter. Gilbert Arenas obliged.
The ice-cold Arenas made a 3-pointer and running layup in the
final 90 seconds, allowing the Warriors to hold on for a 102-98
victory over the Philadelphia 76ers that kept their playoff
hopes alive.
The Warriors saw their 25-point lead cut to 87-75 entering the
fourth quarter and had no one providing any offense besides the
5-5 Boykins, who scored 10 of his 23 points in the final period.
"I've always said that the fourth quarter is the easiest quarter
in the game," said Boykins, who made 8-of-14 shots. "You don't
have nothing to look forward to. You just have to go all out,
right there. Tonight, I was able to make my shots."
The 76ers pulled within two points three times, including 97-95
with 1:40 remaining on a driving layup by Aaron McKie.
Arenas was practically the only Warrior who did not have a hand
in their blistering first half. Having missed nine of his first
10 shots, Arenas pulled the trigger on a 3-pointer that gave
Golden State a 100-95 lead with 1:26 to go.
"I caught a great look and I didn't have a great look all
night," Arenas said.
We've (Arenas and himself) been doing this all year and tonight
was no different," Boykins said. "It's just a matter of who
wants the ball, and tonight we both wanted it."
Keith Van Horn answered eight seconds later with a 3-pointer,
again making it a two-point game. Philadelphia's Eric Snow fell
out of bounds with one rebound and Boykins ran down another
before Arenas drove the left side and banked in a runner for a
102-98 lead with 17 seconds left.
"He didn't have many points tonight, but he had five really
important points in the last minute and a half of the game,"
Warriors coach Eric Musselman said. "We put the ball in his
hand on the middle pick-and-roll and he took it to the rim."
Van Horn missed two free throws and Snow missed a 3-pointer,
allowing the Warriors to improve to 2-1 on their critical
five-game road trip.
Antawn Jamison scored 26 of his 30 points in the first half for
Golden State (36-37), which remained 2 1/2 games behind Phoenix
(37-34) for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western
Conference.
"This is a tough stretch and we have to do well in this
stretch," Jamison said. "We know we have a chance but we have
to play near perfect basketball."
Allen Iverson had 28 points and 10 assists for the Sixers, who
are 2-3 since posting a 15-2 mark coming out of the All-Star
break. They fell 1 1/2 games behind New Jersey in the race
for the Atlantic Division title.
"That's what happens when you get down (25) points," Iverson
said. "You fight and fight and get back into the game, and then
at the end of the game everything has to go perfect. It don't
work that way in this game."
The Sixers were swept in the season series by the Warriors for
the first time since the 1996-97 campaign. Philadelphia coach
Larry Brown, who picked up three technical fouls in the two
games, did not meet the media afterward.
"He's just resting up," assistant John Kuester said. "We're
going to take a trip to Atlanta. He's very disappointed. This is
a tough loss."
In the first half, Jamison and the Warriors were red-hot and
Iverson, Brown and the Sixers lost their cool.
Jamison scored 16 points in the opening period and Golden State
made nine of its last 11 shots, building a 33-24 lead. His
fast-break dunk extended the advantage to 47-32 midway through
the second quarter.
In the last five minutes of the first half, Derrick Coleman was
called for flagrant and technical fouls and Brown and Iverson
were whistled for technicals. Golden State scored four straight
easy baskets off turnovers and built its largest lead at 66-41
with 30 seconds to go.
"(At halftime, Brown) said, 'I'm not going to throw any tirade
or anything, or I could be in here for hours telling you all
what you did wrong,'" McKie said.
It was still 70-45 early in the third quarter before the Sixers
began their comeback. They turned up their defensive pressure
and relied on Iverson, who scored 12 points in the period.
Philadelphia opened the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run that
Boykins halted with two free throws. Layups by Kenny Thomas and
McKie made it 91-89 with 5:12 remaining, but Boykins answered
again, this time with a jumper and a runner that rebuilt the
lead to six points with 3:35 left.
"With Iverson having five fouls, we tried to keep it in Boykins'
hands," Musselman said. "He about 12 points in 11 minutes in
the first half and we felt that he really had his confidence
going tonight."
"He played great," Iverson said. "He showed a lot of heart for
a guy that size. That speaks for itself. The guy plays with his
heart and the ability that God gave him. Never under estimate
anyone on this level."
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